"I am extremely grateful that all of you are present here with me."

Marin's aura-enhanced words boomed throughout the site, and the murmurs died down.

Everyone's eyes shifted towards Marin, and he scanned them with a calm gaze.

He stepped forward and looked at Varok and Valak for permission to continue.

They nodded.

He took a deep breath before he spoke, "None of us had expected what happened two days ago... The whole tribe is saddened by the losses, and to pay homage to the dead, we decided to hold a feast... many of you may think that a feast is only for celebrations, but I must correct you."

He raised his hand and clenched it, his eyes flared with unbridled fury as he shouted, "At this feast we are not denying our sorrow, but we are reforming it into an arrow so sharp that it would strike the purple into eternal slumber!"

He pointed a finger to the south, and his voice turned louder as he roared, "Awakened or not, each one of us bears the blood of gods, and that demon has dared to taint the divine with its profane presence!"

His arms opened wide. "Dhaevrak has been upholding the duty to keep the purple away from the green for thousands of years, but the time has come for us to paint it in crimson!"

THAK!

He slammed his fist against his heart. "Do you wish to avenge your people?!"

The ground shook as the warriors on the left hit the ground with their weapons and shouted in unison. "Yes!"

"Do you wish to end the purple?!"

The air trembled as the former hunters on the right struck their hearts with their fists and bellowed at the same time, "Yes!"

Marin pointed at the clear sky, and his words thundered throughout the hearts of everyone, "Then let us be free!"

Bum-bum! Thak!

Bum-bum! Thak!

Bum-bum! Thak!

The rhythm of war drums and fists striking the chest resounded throughout the forest, and the world seemed to join them as the birds began to whistle and the animals throughout the mountains roared together.

Rion's heart began to beat in unison to their tune. He clenched his fists and glared towards the south.

The group leaders were the same.

Suddenly, Marin raised his hand and said, "Yes, freedom — that we have wished for from the day we learned that we are limited to these mountains..."

Everyone's expression hardened, their weapons stopped, and their hands dropped down as they listened to Marin's words.

"However, many of us did leave, but none returned the same except one, and that person is none other than..." he raised his hand towards the glorious statue and added, "Our Sovereign, the Dragon Slayer, the King Slayer — Haden of war!"

"WAR!" The world trembled as all of them shouted together.

<It's time.> Varok's words rang in Rion's head, and he replied, <Okay.>

Rion stood up from his chair, and those who didn't know what was about to happen looked at him with puzzled expressions.

Rion walked to the back of the stage, took a deep breath and began to climb the stairs.

The wooden steps creaked as his frame climbed on them, and before long, he stood beside Marin.

They smiled and nodded to one another.

Rion took out the red gemstone necklace from his pouch and held it in both of his hands.

Everyone looked at the necklace with a confused expression, and Marin spoke.

"Just like our Sovereign, his son is a prodigy. No, that would be a disrespect to his talent. He is a monster."

<You don't have to say this...> Rion spoke in Marin's head while a calm expression hid all of his thoughts.

Marin's lips arched upwards. "He became a trainee at the age of eight by defeating trainees much older than him."

The crowd began to murmur.

"That wasn't just a story?"

"It was true?"

"Did he really defeat a fourteen-year-old to end the fang trial?"

Marin ignored them. "At fifteen, he defeated a squad leader and became one himself."

Everyone fell silent and stared at Rion as if they were staring at something absurd, but Marin was not yet finished.

"A month ago, he fought against the Ruler of Purple to save his fellow warriors and became the successor to the late group leader Tarek's group!"

Marin tightly gripped Rion's shoulder and announced with a prideful grin, "And just yesterday, he defeated all of the other group leaders and proved himself to be the strongest of them all!"

The crowd exploded.

"What?!"

"He defeated all of them...?"

"How is that possible? He is still a sixteen-year-old kid!!"

"Monster..."

Rion's calm expression cracked slightly, and he remarked using Mental Whisper, <I have yet to defeat Haria.>

Marin smiled and mumbled, "They don't have to know this. If you want to unite them, you have to show that you are their only hope."

Rion nodded slightly and took a step forward.

Everyone fell silent and looked at him with curious gazes.

"I didn't know any of the people who died that day," he said.

"I do not wish to act like I understand your grief and pain."

Just as the words spread through the site, some lowered their heads, remembering their children, their partner, their parent... their someone that The Remnant took away from them.

Rion stopped for a moment, etched the grief in his head and added,

"Do not lower your heads. Do not hide your sorrow. Cry, curse or break down."

"Do anything to free yourself from the claws of sorrow, as you'd need the remaining to cut down the bastard that had dared to take what was yours away from you."

He didn't use his aura, yet his words reached everyone, and suddenly the vast site that was full of nothing but silence was filled with deep sobs, heartbreaking cries and furious curses.

These were the same cries that they were hiding within themselves, fearing that their personal sorrow would affect the people around them.

Marin looked at Rion with a calm gaze, and Rion mumbled, "Each person hides a scar — I do not wish to just kill the beast that caused it, but I also wish to heal it."

"Not all scars can be healed," said Varok.

Rion turned his head towards him, smiled and whispered, "I wouldn't know unless I try."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.